WTN: '01 Wellington Roussanne

14.5% alcohol. Don't remember what I paid for it.

Opened to use in a hachis parmentier recipe. Ended up drinking the rest of the bottle with my wife.

Gold color. Sweet floral nose. On the palate, there's a bunch of tart quince fruit with some honeysuckle overtones and a somewhat waxy mouthfeel. Big mid-palate, quite complex, nicely balanced for food, very long finish.

This stuff was drinking beautifully tonight and easily held its own against the beef-onion-bacon-potato of the hachis. Really great stuff and a good example of what roussanne can be in California.


Mike

Sure cought my eye there! The prices up here for these wines from Cailf are obscene. Thats why I stick to S France.

I wish I remembered what I paid for it, Bob. I bought it at the winery a few years ago, so that info is long gone. I would guess that it was over $20 and under $30, though. Can't imagine I'd have been willing to pay more than that.



Mike

[Jenise]

Mike, I was unfamiliar with Wellington and so I looked them up. In case others are in the same boat, might as well share what I found:



Wellington Vineyards is owned by the father and son team of John and Peter Wellington. John purchased the winery site in 1986. At the time, it consisted of 20 acres of old vines and a few decrepit old fruit and nut trees. Replanting of part of the old vineyard and orchard started in 1988. The winery was completed in time for the 1989 crush. We grow approximately half the grapes we use and purchase the remainder, primarily from small, unique vineyards. The winemakers are Peter Wellington and Lynda Hanson. Both Lynda and Peter did post-graduate study in Enology at U.C. Davis and have experience at other premium wineries.

The estate vineyards consist of 21 acres, 8 of which are 81 to 113 years old. There are 24 different varieties in the old vineyard, with the most common being Zinfandel, Carignan, Alicante Bouschet, Grenache and Syrah. In addition, there are 10 acres of eleven to sixteen year old vines that consist of Merlot, Chardonnay, Marsanne, and Syrah. We grow more Merlot than anything else. Three more acres were replanted in 2001, predominantly to Syrah, Zinfandel and Grenache.

Thanks for that, Jenise. I've been dropping in on the winery for quite a few years now, since discovering that they bottle a varietal Alicante Bosche (called Noir de Noirs). They put out a bunch of different wines (as you can see by the website) some of which I really like, some of which I'm not so fond of. I've never gone to the point of getting on their mailing list or anything like that, but they're always worth a stop when in the neighborhood.

The Roussanne carried the Russian River Valley designation. Don't know the vineyard or grower, though.


Mike